Towards midnight the lamps were gradually extinguished, and all was silent in the tabernacles. The women, the children, and the weakly persons returned to their houses, and the men laid themselves down to rest on the floor. But scarcely had the first beams of morning reddened the summits of the Arabian hills, when they all left their bowers to fill the courts of the temple. The usual ceremonies of extinguishing the lamps, killing the lamb, burning incense in the holy place, and offering the morning-sacrifice, were first gone through. The eight priests then ranged themselves on the sloping ascent of the altar, each with that part of the sacrificial instruments which was intrusted to his care, the last being he who bore the golden vessel with the wine of the drink-offering. At once all the instruments of music struck up together, the Water-gate was opened, and through its lofty folding-doors a priest entered with a golden ewer full of water which he had drawn from the spring of Siloah, whose softly flowing stream runs at the south-eastern foot of mount Moriah. All was silent, except the sound of the silver trumpets. The people made a wide opening for the priest, who approached the altar of burnt-offering and was met by him who bore the vessel of wine. As soon as they saw each other they both exclaimed, “With joy we draw water from the wells of salvation;”[162] and the people around repeated, “With joy we draw water from the wells of salvation.” The priest who had descended from the altar then took from the other the ewer of water, and mingled it with the wine. The Hallel was sung in the mean time by the Levites, the people who filled the courts holding a citron in the one hand and a bundle of palm, willow, and citron branches in the other. ----- Footnote 162: Isaiah, xii. 3. ----- This was the solemnity of which it was commonly said in Israel, “He who has not seen the joy of the drawing of water has seen no joy.” Helon regarded it as not only an expression of thankfulness for the early and the latter rain, to which the fruits of the earth now gathered in had owed their abundance, but as a memorial of the water which gushed forth in the wilderness at the stroke of Moses’ rod; besides that still higher meaning which it remained for the Messiah fully to disclose.